Electronic gaming machines (“EGMs”) offer a variety of games such as mechanical spinning reel games, video spinning reel games, video poker games, roulette games, keno games and other types of wagering games that are commonly deployed at a casino for use by players. Playing a particular EGM requires the player to physically sit at the machine and place a wager on the outcome of the game. The player then interacts with the game during the game cycle to make selections as directed for different options until the game cycle ends with the game outcome being selected and displayed to the player. If the outcome is a winner, the player receives an award corresponding to the outcome.
To date, to actively play a game on an EGM, a player must be physically present at the EGM. Prior art exists for the use of mobile devices for certain interactions with an EGM. For example, United States Patent Publication No. 2012/0315984A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, describes the use of a mobile device for developing and maintaining customer loyalty in the casino, although the player is unable to control game play operation of an EGM directly from a mobile device. This publication describes a technique for playing wager-based video card or slot games where game content, including game outcomes are generated on a remote device such as a server, and sent to a mobile device for display. The publication provides a description of an EGM configured to receive at least game outcomes from a remote device (server) where the EGM itself does not use a random number generator (“RNG”) to generate game outcomes locally. The game outcomes are instead generated remotely (from the server) in response to inputs made on the mobile device such as an input indicating a wager amount and/or an input to initiate the game. The wager amount or initiation information can be sent from the mobile device to a remote device such as from a mobile gaming device to a server. After receiving the game outcomes from the remote device (server), a game presentation for the game outcomes generated remotely can be generated and displayed on the mobile device. In some instances, the game presentation can also be generated remotely (from the server) and then streamed for display to the mobile device. (See Paragraph [0092] of 2012/0315984A1).